1. Scope of Invention
This invention relates generally to premoistened and prepackaged towelettes, and more particularly for a prepackaged contact lens wearer hand cleaning and neutralizing handwipe or towelette and contact lens rewetting solution.
2. Prior Art
A great variety of prepackaged and premoistened towelettes are currently available in the marketplace and otherwise known through prior U.S. patents. Some of these prior art teachings are directed to the particular formulation of the disposable sheet material while others are directed to prepackaged towelettes or handwipes bearing unique solutions and other features for the particular intended purpose.
The following U.S. patents describe this known prior art technology as follows.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,244 issued to Elmore
U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,399 issued to Mencke
U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,258 issued to Mencke
U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,936 issued to Gould et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,698 issued to Mencke
U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,300 issued to Pompe
U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,984 issued to McClendon
U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,610 issued to Ajello
U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,146 issued to Smith et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,601 issued to Eaton, et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,919 issued to Taylor
U.S. Pat. No. 5,753,246 issued to Peters
U.S. Pat. No. Des 396,803 issued to Belmonte
U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,089 of Applicant
U.S. Pat. No. 6,082,534 of Applicant
None of these prior art patents, however, except for my two (2) above-referenced patents, address the issue of not only cleansing the fingers of a contact lens wearer prior to reinstallation of a contact lenses, but also neutralizing the acidity/alkalinity of the finger surfaces to minimize eye irritation when the contact lens is reinstalled on the eye of the user. Lotions, soaps, make-up, dirt and other irritants, when placed inadvertently on a contact lens, will cause pain, irritation and even eye infection. Moreover, there is also a need for providing of a small quantity of e.g. saline solution, as in sealed ampule form, which is important for rewetting the contact lens prior to its installation. The present invention is particularly useful in these ways and is intended for contact lens wearers who either inadvertently dislodged or dropped their contact lens or have to remove them because of eye irritation. To further facilitate the reinstallation, one surface of the packaging is mirror reflective and of sufficient size and clarity such that the user may carefully watch the reinstallation of each contact lens.
This invention is directed to a prepackaged disposable towelette and a rewetting solution separably held within a disposable sealed package. The towelette is presaturated with a neutralizing solution so that, as finger residue is rubbed off and absorbed into the fabric of the towelette, the finger skin pH is also substantially neutralized which minimizes eye irritation each time a contact lens user reinstalls a contact lens. The rewetting solution, held within a separate sealed ampule, rewets the contact lens before contact lens installation to further reduce eye irritation.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a prepackaged disposable cleaning and neutralizing towelette and a separately held quantity of rewetting solution such as saline solution for rewetting the contact lens before installation.
It is another object of this invention to provide a disposable cleaning and neutralizing towelette which is saturated with a neutralizing solution which, in combination with the soil and residue abrading action of a towelette, will cleanse and neutralize the acidity or alkalinity of the finger and hand surfaces prior to handling and reinstalling of a contact lens.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a prepackaged disposable cleaning and neutralizing towelette in combination with a quantity of saline solution held separately in a sealed ampule within the sealed package and further in combination with a mirrored reflective surface on the outside of the packaging to assist in reinstalling a contact lens.